In other developments, the Philbrook & Paine came in at $9000, the 2nd Version Meek No.44 Trout Reel at $9500, and the Fabulous 7' Pinky Gillum DeLuxe Fly Rod at $5750.The big surprise in fly rods was the price paid for the Thaddeus Norris fly rod, item #192, an astounding $16,000. I will be profiling Norris as rodmaker in an upcoming entry.

By the way, the first 120 auctions to end came in at $347,810, which with the buyer's premium means that the average lot came in at $3500. Gee, anyone else think those arguments about the market being "soft" don't hold water?

Of the amazing Derrydale books, probably no one was prepared for the $60,000 paid for four Angler's Club of New York Bulletins by Derrydale Press. Another rare Derrydale--A Bigelow Background came in at $17,000, as the printing was limited to just 25. Eugene V. Connett's Magic Hours came in at $39,000.

As my ancestors would say, uff da! The Derrydale Grasslands International Steeplechase, a 16 page booklet, just hit the gavel at $16,000. Holy moly rocky. And then the 1931 version of the same booklet went for $18,000. Wow.

William Hale Harkness' Ho Hum the Fisherman just came in at $6200, Heywood's Charles Cotton and His River finished at $10,000, and Lynn Bogue Hunt's An Artist's Game Bag ended at $20,000.

Preston Jennings' Book of Trout Flies just hit the gavel at $80,000! Followed not long after with Charles Phair's Atlantic Salmon Fishing at $45,000. Pollard & Barclay-Smith's British and American Game-Birds hit the gavel for $32,500. The Derrydales are about the end and the Zane Grey and lure auctions about to begin...but not before William Woodward's Gallant Fox hit $60,000.

The books are done, and we are on to the Zane Grey collection and the rest of the tackle. We start with a $650 Thos. Chubb catalog from 1890, the last year it was an independent firm. A sweet 1789 Tackle Invoice from Onesimus Ustonson hit $800, one of the earliest tackle ephemera sold in recent memory.

The first bomb drops from the Zane Grey collection...$22,000 for the Grey fighting chair! $7500 for a Zane Grey Large Three Spool Line Dryer; a bit surprising. The fun is just starting...Zane Grey Broadbill Gladiator Flag $22,000, followed by ZG Pennant from the Fisherman for $19,000. The Zane Grey South Bend Teasers went for as much as $7500, and all of them above $850. When his riding pants ($8750) and wading boots ($1500) sell for astronomical prices, you know this is going to be a good Zane Grey day! $2600 for a Zane Grey photo of a broadbill...$3250 for a PHOTO of a Kovalovsky reel. I may be wrong, but isn't that about what a Kovalovsky reel goes for in real life?

800 auctions down so far...we are almost through with the Zane Grey portion, and it has not disappointed. 12 Grey-owned paintings running between $1000-$3500. From first to last the Zane Grey items were a big hit, with a few surprises thrown in (some high ticket items sold for more than twice the auction estimate).

After a short break, here comes the lures!

The Clark's store display kicks things off with a solid $7000 ending bid, and a Woods Ultra Casting Minnow (sold by Norvell-Shapleigh Hardware) for $4250. Item #930, a Keeling Expert Minnow Lure in Box, went for only $700--1/3 the high auction estimate. And people say there aren't bargains to be had! I thought many of the Experts went on the low end of the pricing scale; good bargains in the grand scheme of things. Boxed Experts went generally from $400 to over $2000, however. By the way, this is an unbelievable collection of Experts. Harkauf Minnows seem to be doing really well.

And the Rush Tangos are coming up to the block next.

Before the Tangos, the beautiful North Channel Minnow referenced by Jeff Kieny below came in at $2100--did anyone else think this might go higher? A K&K Animated Minnow hit $1900 and a Michigan Life-Like went for $1425. In 1994, I watched a guy pay $325 for a Life-Like and thought he was crazy...Hey now! The Tango six-pack came in at $1250, also thought this one would go a bit higher but it came exactly between the auction estimate so it must be right on. The Yellow Field Special unrigged went for 1/4th the auction estimate, and I sort of suspected this would happen. Tango groupings are selling in the range of $50-$75 per Tango.

Lots of misc. groupings of lures coming up, I thought this would be the place to find some bargains, looks like my hunch is holding true. 3 Florida Shiner Lures in boxes for $1400. Balance has been restored to the world, folks. And a bunch of Millsites went for $1100, I hope this means this company will start getting more respect.

UPDATE: Apparently, the above crazed ravings were based on live auction results, not on absentee bids (which were factored in after the fact). I noted the 23 empty Heddon boxes only got bid up to $100, which was true, but the absentee bids pushed it up to $375--still a bargain but not quite the incredible bargain of $100. The 16 Foss lures in tins went for $275, again a good deal ($17 each) but not the steal mentioned last night. And the 7 spinnos were absentee bid up to $300 and $450. Thanks to Jay Folsom for pointing this out!

With the lures done...BRING ON THE 'BOO!

That's it for tonight, folks. Check back tomorrow for some more off the cuff remarks as it all goes down live.

About Me

My name is Dr. Todd Larson, and I am a college history professor who writes on the history of fishing in America. I started this blog to help people better understand their outdoor heritage. I am originally from Duluth, Minnesota and live in Southwestern Ohio with my wife, daughter, three fish, two cats, and a dog.